Calvin
"Let's go exploring!" -Calvin's last sentence, from It's a Magical World Calvin is one of the title characters of Calvin and Hobbes, along with his best friend and stuffed tiger, Hobbes. He is a perpetually-six-year-old boy with a penchant for getting into trouble and a wildly vivid imagination. The comic almost always focuses on Calvin's life, his troubles, and his adventures, which are usually with Hobbes. He is the founder of G.R.O.S.S., a club designed to harrass girls, which usually involves Susie. Calvin is most remembered for his "dastardly plots" (most of the time against girls), his humor, his wisdom (and misapplication thereof) and his extensive vocabulary uncharacteristic to a six year old. His first piece of dialogue was the first line of the strip: "So long, Pop. I'm off to check my tiger trap!". His last line of dialogue was also the strip's final line: "It's a magical world, Hobbes ol' buddy... Let's go exploring!" Calvin appeared in almost every strip of the series ever printed and published. History Early history Calvin's first appearance was in the first strip. He was checking his tiger trap, baited with a tuna fish sandwich (He claimed that "tigers will do anything for a tuna fish sandwich"). Hobbes also stated that "We're kinda stupid that way" while hanging upside-down. Appearances Calvin's main trademark appearance was his black pants and a striped red shirt, similar to Peanuts character Linus van Pelt, who also wore a red striped shirt. At times, depending on the season and weather, he was also seen wearing his winter clothes or his raincoat. Other times, Calvin would then change into his Stupendous Man outfit, jumping inside the closet and donning his hood and cape. In a few strips, you can see that he wears "tighty-whitey" style underwear. Being extremely short, Calvin once exclaimed "Short pants touch my feet, OK!?" Calvin's Alter-Egos Calvin's hyperactive imagination leads him to imagine himself as other characters with different powers and goals; he sometimes vanishes into a fantasy to escape a difficult situation (like when being bored or not paying attention). It is important to note that Hobbes is not seen taking part in the fantasies involving Calvin's alter-egos, other than criticizing his choice of alternate personae. In many comics which involve Calvin in an alter ego, the strip is heavily stylized in such a manner as to portray Calvin's environment from his imaginative point of view. Calvin's daydream alter-egos include: Spaceman Spiff, Tracer Bullet, Stupendous Man, and many others. *Spaceman Spiff, an intergalactic hero, (as in Calvin's perspective) who drives a red spaceship with a bubble canopy. He always wears his space goggles, and his uniform. Spaceman Spiff always encounters aliens, and always gets his spaceship to crash. Calvin mostly thinks of Spaceman Spiff at school, usually with Miss Wormwood as an alien. *Sometimes, Calvin transforms into Tracer Bullet, who is a hard-boiled private eye who solves mysteries and shares Calvin's amazing vocabulary. Each Tracer Bullet strip is mostly black and a bit of white. The name Tracer Bullet comes from a Military round coated with aluminum paint that "Traces" its way to its target. Even though this is another recurrent transformation, Bill Watterson states that they are very time consuming and, hence, he does not make many of them. He also states that "the eye, being lazy, is attracted to white space, especially when the panels are so small." This presents a problem due to Watterson's excessive use of black to present the Tracer Bullet panels. This, as many other items in it, are "spoofs on the genre", as Watterson states. Tracer Bullet stories usually apply to Calvin breaking something, and his parents trying to blame him for it. *One alter-ego Calvin actually transforms into is Stupendous Man, not by his imagination, but by an actual costume which his mother made for him. Stupendous Man is a superhero of Calvin's perspective. When Calvin does homework, he sometimes dons his costume and blasts the school or try to set the Earth one day behind. He usually tries to save Calvin from work rather than protecting the planet. One time when Hobbes asked Calvin if Stupendous Man had ever won a battle (because he usually doesn't, thanks to Calvin's teacher, babysitter, or parents), Calvin told him that all of Stupendous Man's victories were moral victories. Other Alter-Egos Calvin's Social Relationships His social relationships at home, in the public, with other children, and at school are not so stable. He has hard times socializing, and thus, has few friends. But he is also frequently bullied by Moe, another classmate in Calvin's school. He also annoys his own babysitter, Rosalyn who often gets him in trouble. His only real friend is his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, who he almost is never seen without. Calvin remarks in one strip about how "it's shameless the way we flirt," when talking about Susie Derkins. This implies Calvin's relationship with Susie, especially early in the strip. This relationship gradually got more advanced to the point, where it seemed as though they were mortal enemies, when they were actually good friends. This could imply HateShipping. Watterson has remarked about how he started to let the personalities bounce off each other, and this improved the meaning of their relationship. Personality Named after 16th Century theologian John Calvin, (founder of Calvinism and a strong believer in predestination), Calvin is a very selfish, smart-mouthed, impulsive, insubordinate, imaginative, energetic, curious, bratty, rambunctious, obnoxious, and intelligent six-year-old who always acts before he thinks. Calvin is a rebellious, irritating, imaginative, and a disagreeable person; though he tries desperately to show his true, good side. He almost always only expresses this side in front of Hobbes. He was usually lost in his own little world. Though Calvin is usually shown as caring only about himself, he has appeared otherwise on occasion to have a deep care for animals, such as the time he found an injured raccoon. He got his parents to try to help it, and then cried when it died. He also mourns the loss of a bird that died when it hit a window. He decries birds' inability to write memoirs and constantly tries to make Hobbes feel inferior for being a tiger, yet just as often the reader finds Calvin commenting on the pettiness of humans and envying the quiet dignity of animal life. Despite his low grades, Calvin has a wide range vocabulary and an advanced sense of irony which even rivals that of an adult. Calvin's woods are influential on him in that they help bring out his small but redeeming contemplative side. His wagon and toboggan also helps him in bringing out his contemplative side, but he usually rides it with Hobbes and ends up driving his wagon/toboggan (which "wouldn't survive a 20 MPH collision with a stationary object" as Calvin says) right over a cliff. His grapples with philosophical quandaries are usually cut short by a crash, banal distraction, mischievous urge or, as seen here, a sarcastic retort from one of his parents. For example, in one strip Calvin asks "Dad, are you vicariously living through me in the hope that my accomplishments will validate your mediocre life and in some way compensate for all of the opportunities you botched?", to which his father replies: "If I were, you can bet I'd be re-evaluating my strategy.". After which, Calvin tells his mom that his father keeps insulting him. Another example of Calvin's advanced vocabulary is when Calvin tells his mother that he has been "...disempowered! My centering, self-actualizing anima has been impacted by toxic, co-dependent dysfunctionality!". His mother then replies "You've been temporarily inconvenienced. Take out the trash.", to which shouts out "ARE YOU SAYING THERE'S A DIFFERENCE?!" In school, Calvin typically does almost no work. During the story arc in which he has to do a report on bats, he writes a brief poem that describes bats as "unspeakable giant bugs"; on the basis that they could fly and were ugly and hairy. And for his "scientific illustration", he "traced the Batman logo and added fangs. Calvin is guilty of a lot of groundless bragging, once asking everybody to introduce him as "Calvin, Boy of Destiny" and "Calvin the Bold", even putting the name on tests beside an "Official Notary Seals". His boastfulness is more amusing because of how poor a student he really is. For a report on the mythology of Mercury with Susie, he writes a short statement (5 minutes before it's due) about how Mercury was the god of "flowers and bouquets", as evidenced by his appearance in the logo of FTD. He concludes his statement by saying "Why they named a planet after this guy, I can't imagine." Calvin's lack of discipline infuriates Susie and earns him another F. Calvin's precocious vocabulary, imagination and curiosity are always struggling against his complete refusal to learn anything he doesn't want to; from teachers, parents, or the lessons that emerge from his follies. When he willingly goes to the library to learn about snakes, he then realizes learning can be fun when not enforced. Thus Calvin seems to suffer from bad grades out of boredom. He drifts off in class, imagining it as a prison with Miss Wormwood as the warden, or himself as Spaceman Spiff, his teacher now a slobbering alien monster to be destroyed by lasers. He also has a wide knowledge of dinosaurs. Miss Wormwood rightly observes that Calvin spends more energy evading work and thinking of creative excuses than he would actually working. In one instance, he writes: "I cannot answer this question as it is against my religious principles". On another occasion, he answers "I don't know" for every question in his homework. During another test Calvin writes, "I cannot release this information as it might compromise our agents in the field." Rather than seek real help Calvin usually defers to the only one he really trusts (Hobbes), who despite all his regal "feline wisdom", shares Calvin's penchant for creative stupidity. He solves addition by invoking algebra, as in "let's begin with Y, as in "Why do we care?", once declared that "numerator" was Latin for "number eighter", and told Calvin during a test that seven plus three was seventy-three. Despite their friendly fighting, Calvin considers Hobbes the most intelligent creature in his life and rarely perceives his "help" as misguided. Occasionally, he allows his Dad to teach him math (via, cunningly stealing money), resulting in Calvin betting Susie Derkins 25 cents over a math test. Calvin of course fails, due to day dreaming about Spaceman Spiff. The dream was math related, as Calvin needed to answer the question 5 + 6, so Spiff crashed Planet 5 into Planet 6. Planet 5 was obliterated, leaving only Planet 6, so Calvin's answer was 6, and reluctantly pays Susie up. Later he brags to Hobbes that he cheated Susie by only giving her three dimes, much to the amusement of Hobbes. Their buffoonish rapport as partners in mischief is the strip's most endearing quality, but the lesson they take away from any situation is usually the wrong one. Calvin loves Hobbes when they're best friends. However, Calvin occasionally hates Hobbes during the storyline of one Sunday strip where he claims that Hobbes cheated him on the Dinosaurs by simply winning. He commonly wears his distinctive red-and-black striped shirt, black jeans, and magenta sneakers. Watterson has described Calvin thus: *"Calvin is pretty easy to do because he is outgoing and rambunctious and there's not much of a filter between his brain and his mouth." *"I guess he's a little too intelligent for his age. The thing that I really enjoy about him is that he has no sense of restraint, he doesn't have the experience yet to know the things that you shouldn't do." *"The socialization that we all go through to become adults teaches you not to say certain things because you later suffer the consequences. Calvin doesn't know that rule of thumb yet." *"I must admit, that Calvin is good. he's always been my favorite book character and a good read when I'm down in the dumps. He always makes me laugh, and his surly attitude and having Hobbes around really just does it for anyone." The subject of Calvin's grades was addressed in another strip, where Calvin's father points out that he loves to learn, and "has read just about every dinosaur book ever written". He then asks, "So why aren't you doing better in school?" to which Calvin replies, "We don't read about dinosaurs". Calvin certainly doesn't hesitate to speak his mind. In one of his various silly money-making schemes, Calvin is shown standing behind a box with “SCIENTIFIC NAMES: $1.00” written on it; to which he explains that "Scientists think up all these cool, wacky theories, but then give them dull, unimaginative names (e.g., "Dark Matter"). Calvin has often been shown to have minor anti-social tendencies. He has wished he were dead, only to then say he really wished that everyone else was dead at least once, and often shows reluctance to join organizations. For example, story lines involving him as a Cub Scout were dropped because Watterson saw them as uncharacteristic, and, while explaining to Susie on a see-saw why he didn't sign up for recess baseball, says he hates organized sports (as opposed to when he plays with Hobbes), saying "I figure when I to get bossed around, I'll join the Army and at least get paid". Calvinistic predestination as a philosophical position basically entails the idea that the human action affecting a person's ultimate salvation or damnation is predestined beforehand. Calvin's consistent gripe is that the troublesome acts he commits are outside of his control: he is simply a product of his environment, a victim of circumstances. He does frequently escape from his environment into elaborate fantasy worlds; one of the strip's recurring devices is the humorous juxtaposition of Calvin's fantastic perception with the quotidian viewpoint of other characters. On many occasions, Calvin sees himself in an alternate guise; as the astronaut and explorer Spaceman Spiff, the superhero Stupendous Man, the private eye Tracer Bullet and many others. In addition, Calvin has a highly developed artistic streak for his age. This is evident during the winter when Calvin indulges in constructing highly creative, if typically grotesque, snowmen and related tableaux. Both Calvin and Hobbes seem to be fans of Batman and Astro Boy, which are the only "real" superheroes Calvin likes (Captain Napalm and Nukeman being unique to the strip), although he is never seen reading any of the comics. There have been a few references in some strips, one such is when Calvin begs his mom for dinosaur merchandise at the museum gift shop, and then he uses a trick, saying that the toys are educational for him. After his mom buys the toys, Calvin says: "I wonder if we can get any Batman junk this way!", stating that his mom probably won't buy him any Batman merchandise, which could be a reference to the critical reaction toward the film Batman Returns for its dark nature, which was believed to be inappropriate for children at the time. Another reference is when Calvin and Hobbes are talking about why superheroes do not battle more realistic, subtle supervillains in comic books and not "evil maniacs with grandiose plots to destroy the world". Hobbes agrees, and thinks that superheroes could send letters to the editor and pursue civic involvement rather than crime fighting. He then shouts: "Quick, to the Bat-Fax!", which is a parody of Adam West's famous catchphrase: "Quick, to the Batmobile!" from the 1960s Batman television series. Calvin loves a cereal called "Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs" to the point of obsession. Hobbes, on the other hand, despises the cereal, describing it as "like eating a bowl of Milk Duds" and on the same occasion, "pure sugar." Personal Life Calvin usually is causing pandemonium in school, his house, and generally everywhere he goes. He is often seen bugging Susie Derkins, his worst enemy. Calvin's only moments of serenity are with his best buddy, Hobbes. He gets average C grades, seeing he mostly gets Cs, but has gotten a few high grades. There was even a time when he got an A+, but after his initial exitement, he doesn't take much pride in earning this grade and often refuses to learn as well. In one strip, he imagined having his own day because he was so smart. Inventions Calvin occasionally makes machines (usually made out of a cardboard box), which normally lead to disaster. Here is a list of his inventions: * Transmogrifier * Transmogrifier Gun * Duplicator * Upgraded Duplicator (with Ethicator) * Time Machine * Box of Secrecy * Cerebral Enhance-o-Tron, '''a.k.a '''Thinking Cap * Concession Stand Artistic Evolution Like Hobbes, Calvin looked very different at the beginning of the strip than at the end. During the strip, Calvin's eyes slowly got more oval-shaped and farther apart, his hair got longer and spikier, and he got noticeably taller. Calvin's last name Calvin's last name is never revealed to the reader, although a popular misconception has circulated that his last name is "Wunderkind". This dates back to the strip in which Calvin fantasizes about winning the poster contest at his school and imagining his name in the newspaper. The word "wunderkind" (which means "child prodigy") appears next to his name. It is also believed that Calvin's last name is Monroe. Originally, Monroe and Jones had an equal chance, but Jones appeared twice in Calvin and Hobbes, and was in a Homework paper, thus proving that it wasn't Calvin's last name. Mr. Monroe appeared only once and was eventually killed, much of how Calvin may have feelings and daydreams about his dad. Anyway, death was imminent for Mr. Monroe, who was probably supposed to be Calvin's father. Trivia *Calvin probably has a crush on Susie. *Calvin writes with both hands, but it is commonly shown to be right-handed. During the baseball strips, Calvin noticeably can be seen wearing a glove on a different hand in each panel. *Calvin's main personality varies in every comic strip. He's mainly shown to be mischievous and aggressive, but also shown to be adventurous, curious, and intelligent (to Calvin's demise). He is occasionally shown to be inappropriate (according to Calvin's snowmen) and miserable (when it comes to Moe, School, and other problems in mind) *Calvin hated being forced to learn how to swim, but he is commonly seen in his "kiddy pool" during the summer. *Interestingly, in both his first and last appearances, Calvin is wearing a hat of some sort, the first being a pith helmet and the last being a snow hat. *Calvin is shown to be ambidextrous. In fact, Hobbes and Susie are also shown to be ambidextrous while his father and mother are right handed. *Calvin seems to speak five different languages: English, Spanish, French, German, and Latin. *Calvin is shown to be a fan of Star Wars, Batman, and Looney Tunes, but seems to despise anything from Disney. *Calvin sometimes is shown having a watch, but it disappears between panels. *In some strips, Calvin is shown having five fingers. But in most strips, he is shown having only three or four. *Calvin has two favorite cereals, "Crunchy Sugar Bombs" and "Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs", although he is forced to eat oatmeal and sometimes Bran. *Calvin is often depicted of crashing 40% of the time on both the sled with red runners and the tobbogan. *Calvin and Susie are the only known characters who have creative imaginations. *In the early production stages of the series, Calvin's eyes were covered by his hair. Later on, people told Bill Watterson to show Calvin's eyes. *Calvin is known in one comic to have size 5 boots. *Calvin treats math problems like 3 plus 4 like they're awfully advanced for 1st grade. He has extremely poor math skills, although he once accidentally got 10 minus 3 right (the answer was 7). Calvin's dad was upset when he saw that Calvin thought 8 plus 4 equals 7, so he tells him the actual answer is 12. He also believes that 5 plus 6 is 6. His poor math skills is shown even stronger when it's revealed that Calvin thinks that three dimes is worth less than a quarter. However, a dime is smaller than a quarter by size, so that might be why Calvin thinks that three dimes is worth less. Although Hobbes usually shares Calvin's stupidity when it comes to math, he, unlike Calvin, seems to know to three dimes (which is 30 cents) is worth more than a quarter (which is 25 cents). *Calvin is creeped out by Somnabulists, or sleepwalkers. *Despite having a fit about how disgusting tortelinni is, he does not actually know what it is. *Calvin has attempted to mail himself to Australia to avoid being babysat by Rosalyn. *Despite Calvin not enjoying any kind of fish, he is sometimes seen opening cans of tuna. *Calvin expresses thoughts about politics, environmental concerns, current events, paleontology, archeology and physics, yet gets poor grades on simple schoolwork. See Also * Calvinball * Cardboard box * Hobbes * HateShipping Category:Calvin Category:G.R.O.S.S. members Category:Characters